This is May’s monthly ramblings, as long-term travellers/digital nomads/expats (I’m still not entirely sure what to call ourselves) time often passes us by so quickly, so this is an online journal of sorts, a space to reflect on the month.
May was incredibly busy and as usual, I haven’t been updating this weekly (like I should) so here I am in mid-June trying to remember all the things we got up to by scrolling back through my photos. So, let’s not waste any more time, here’s what we got up to in May.
What we’ve been doing
Spending time with friends & family in UK
I was only at home for three weeks and my friends and family are scattered all over the country and with all of us working Monday – Friday that gave me exactly six days to get round to everyone. I met my bestie in London for a boozy brunch, drove four hours to Wales to see my Koh Samui girlies, drove down to Brighton to hang out with my besties there and cooked a huge roast dinner for my Mum and sister on my last Sunday at home, turns out that Sunday was the whole of UK summer by the sounds of things.
Then I hopped on a flight to Nice to spend five days in Juan-les-Pins.
Work trip to Juan-les-Pins, France
For anyone new, I am a virtual assistant and social media manager, that is how I can travel/live abroad full-time. One of my clients in a Belgian-based non-profit that works in the stock photography sector, every year they host a conference for up to 400 people and this year it was hosted in the south of France.
We spent months organising the event, including speakers, sponsors and an industry party among other things. I was asked if I would be able to attend for a fee to help support during the four-day event. As I’m sure you can appreciate, flights from Thailand to Europe are not cheap and I had been missing home so this was a perfect excuse to go back for a few weeks. The fee I received for my work paid for my flights home and some extra little treats whilst I was there.
I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities that have come my way since becoming self-employed and although sometimes it’s lonely and hard work, I have somehow created the most incredible life for myself and I think it’s only going to get better.
Weekend hotel stay at Samui Buri Beach Resort
After a month apart we wanted to spend some quality time with each other, away from work commitments, friends and the familiarity of where we live/spend most of our time. So we had a little scroll through some cute hotels on booking.com and found this beautiful Thai-style resort in Maenam called Samui Buri.
Maenam is a very quiet and peaceful area in Koh Samui, with fewer beach restaurants and bars than in other areas, it was such a relaxing stay, the food, the room, the staff, the views, the pool, it was all wonderful. And did I mention we only paid £50 per night for a beautiful room with pool access? That’s the joy of being on Samui, once you’ve forked out for the flights you can pick up accommodation so cheaply during low season and using websites like booking.com allows you to compare all the best prices. We love it!
If you’re interested in booking a stay at the Samui Buri Beach Resort, check out the rooms and prices here.
May’s foodie highlights
There’s a whole mix of foods in here, a lot of home cooking, solo lunches in France, airport sushi, all the Thai food I missed whilst I was home, seafood specials, and a welcome home Prime Burger.
What we’ve been watching
Baby Reindeer
OK, what did you guys think of this one? We thought the acting was brilliant, especially from Martha’s character, you equally felt sorry for her and absolutely terrified of her at the same time. Truly incredible story telling by Richard Gadd, and heartbreaking for him and what he’s been though. But I think it shows you the fragility of people, how easily you can fall into the wrong patterns, just because you want to be loved and want to succeed. If you haven’t watched it yet, give it a go, it’s worth the hype.
Have you guys watched anything good lately? We’re always looking for new recommendations. We have Netflix and Amazon Prime. Talking of which you can get yourselves a 30-day free trial for Amazon Prime here, sharing is caring as they say.
What we’ve been reading
Big Adventures on the Small Screen – Peter Kay
I am a huge Peter Kay fan, even more so after reading his latest book. I really appreciate observational comedy and he just does it perfectly. This book basically sums up his TV career, giving you insights into what it was like filming Phoenix Nights, Max and Paddy, Car Share and many more. He also talks about all his cameos in much bigger TV and film productions, as well as all his charity work, who else remembers Geraldine?
If you love Peter Kay and have seen any of his shows, then this is a wonderfully lighthearted and easy read.
What we’ve been celebrating
New Restaurant Opening
A well loved and well known restaurant in Fisherman’s Village recently closed down as they were due to open a new bigger and better location, that restaurant is one of our favourites and a client, 2 Fishes. The chef/owner, Leandro, has been working as a chef for almost 25 years and he honestly produces some of the BEST food on the island. Since opening on 30th May, the restaurant has been packed, every day.
The reason we’re celebrating is because it means I finally get my work permit! Hoorah! That means we’ll be staying in Koh Samui for at least one more year. Here are just a few sneaky snaps from the opening. If you do want to book a table whilst you’re in Koh Samui, drop them a DM on their Instagram, or just go and have a nose at all their beautiful food!
What we’re looking forward to for June 2024
Building our online business
My ultimate goal really is to build up my online work. I love working in social media but it’s very time-consuming. I work every day and I receive messages from 08.00 until 00.00, from clients, from customers, it can be quite overwhelming. So, I’m planning to build up my virtual assistant work and take on additional clients there, as it will give me more flexibility and means I get to reclaim my weekends.
I also want to get back into blogging, if you’ve been here a while you’ll have noticed that this blog was completely neglected for about six to eight months and that is because I was building up a social media business. Now that I have that under control I want to get back into blogging and socials for Travel Eat Sleep Repeat. Travel and writing are my passions so expect to see much more of my ramblings from now on.
So tell me, how was your May and what are you most looking forward to for June?
It would be great to connect over on Instagram or on Twitter, we love building our little community of fellow travellers and travel lovers. And if you want to follow along on our travel adventures why not subscribe.
Until next time…
travel eat sleep repeat 